The Forgotten District
by fangirlsupreme76
Summary: Andi Jackson was your average girl. She had the regular insecurities, regular boy trouble, regular monster attacks. So what happens when she gets forced into the Hunger Games?
1. District 14

District 14. Yeah, it exists, not that anyone knows it. The Capitol didn't even know about us until like 2 months ago. The only reason they know about us now is because Kronos decided to set fire to the Capitol. Oh, did I forget to mention? We're demigods. Yeah, children of the gods themselves. We all live together in the infamous District 14, going through regular teenage drama AND trying not to get killed by monsters. Awesome, right?  
In a way, Kronos is the "super villain" in my story. Kill this, destroy that, you know how it goes. Well, apparently, he said "Oh, hey, we should, like, try to kill all of the people in the Capitol! That'll show the gods!" and sent his army to attack. Long story short, most of us died, the Capitol was left in shambles, and we were forced into the next Hunger Games. Thanks Kronos.  
Well, anyway, my name's Andi Jackson, I'm 15, and I'm a daughter of Poseidon. You see that gorgeous girl up there? That is yours truly. I live with my brother, Percy, and my mother, Sally, in what used to be Camp Half-Blood. It's just like it used to be, but at some point, the fleece somehow got stolen, so we have an occasional monster raid, but it's usually done in less than 5 minutes. Of course, this was before the Kronos incident. Since then, the Capitol tore down the dining pavilion to make space for a District square (and to make us starve) and put up a fence. I think the only reason they did this was to make sure we don't run away now that we have a reason to. I've only known about them for 2 months, and I already know I hate them.  
Well, that's about it. For now. With our lives, there is never an end to the story. See you later!


	2. The Reaping

Well, today's the day. The Reaping. Chiron told us what's going to happen, about how we all have to show up at the Square, about how we all have our names is some magic crystal ball, about how one boy and one girl will be picked to die for our district, all for the Capitol's amusement. I walked off to the bathroom, took a shower, and forced myself into this. I honestly hated it, but apparently, we all had to look nice before we started walking toward our deaths. I braided my hair into a loose ponytail and walked back to the cabin.  
As I closed the door behind me, Mom walked up to me and started tugging at my dress and fussing with my hair. Percy walked up to me wearing a simple button-up shirt and khaki pants. His hair was still a mess, but there was only so much we could do. "You ready to die?" I asked him, kind of smirking. "Not in the slightest." he replied, giving me a grin. We heard a horn sound in the distance. "Well, that's our cue." I said. With every step, I cursed Kronos, I cursed the Capitol, and I cursed myself for taking this without a fight.  
We trudged on to the Square with the rest of the kids. I guess Percy walked off to find Annabeth, because I couldn't find him anywhere. I kept walking through the crowd until we came to a group of Peacekeepers. They checked us off, one by one as we passed their checkpoint. I walked off into a small crowd of teenagers where I found Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and a few more people I didn't really know. As more and more people poured into the Square, I looked around a bit, taking in the surroundings. There was a ginormous stage in front of the Square with 2 chairs, 2 large glass balls, and a microphone set up. There were small crowds scattered everywhere, from 12-year-olds to 18-year-olds. I looked around my own group a little more. Percy and Annabeth were clinging to each other like there was no tomorrow. Jason and Piper weren't much different, so I was the odd man out with all of the C-lists. Yeah, C-listers.  
I stood there awkwardly until Chiron came onto the stage in centaur form. Following him was a tall woman with a bright blue wig. She was wearing a frilly shirt that was so gaudy, I wouldn't have been surprised if I doubled over right then and there and started puking rainbows. Chiron took his spot next to Mr. D while the strange woman took the empty chair. They started whispering to each other, occasionally taking a glance back at us. Finally, the woman stood up and walked up to the microphone. "Welcome to the 74th annual Hunger Games!" her voice boomed. "My name is Zeedee Clockwork, and I will be District 14's escort for the Games. Now, happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be EVER in your favor!" I stifled a giggle. Her Capitol accent was so over the top, half of the camp was snickering and the other half was trying to cover their smiles. "First the girls." She walked up to one of the balls and picked a name out. She read it to herself over and over again, probably meaning to add suspense. When she finally decided to open her mouth, she enunciated very carefully "Annabeth Chase."  
My mouth dropped. I looked over at Percy and saw his face had been flushed. Annabeth was hyperventilating. She slowly started walking up to the stage, her face a ghastly white. Percy tried to pull her back, but the Peacemakers kept Percy at bay. The Square was silent as she continued to inch toward the stage. As her feet hit the hard wood, the sound echoed through the empty air. As she took her place, Zeedee finally said "Do we have any tributes?" We all looked at each other really confused. When she realized her mistake, she rephrased, "Is anyone willing to take her place?" I quickly looked around, but saw no volunteers. I knew what I had to do, but I had to make sure there was no other way. "I volunteer!" I shouted as I stepped into a clearing.  
Everyone's heads turned toward me. "Well, looks like we have a tribute!" she said, absolutely delighted. "No, duh." I mumble as I walked up to the stage. I look back at the group. Annabeth had already run off and had her face buried in Percy's shirt. He was giving me a pleading look. I reassured him with a nod, and turned back around. I made my way next to Zeedee and stared out into the crowd. "What's your name, sweetheart?" she asked me. I gritted my teeth and said "Andromeda Jackson." Gods I hate that name. But, I guess Mom thought it would be "cute" if both of our names were in the same Greek myth. 'Aww!', right (Note the sarcasm). "But please, call me Andi." I add quickly. "Well, let's give a hand to Andi Jackson, the female tribute for District 14." she said cheerfully. She started to clap, but no one joined. Instead, everyone got down on one knee and bowed their heads (At Camp Half-Blood, this was a great sign of respect). She cleared her throat and said "Onto the boys." She walked over to the other glass ball, reached her hand in, and pulled out a slip of paper. "Leo Valdez." she read. My eyes got wide. Oh crap.  
(5 years ago)  
It had been 2 weeks since Percy and I had left District 12. We had decided that we just couldn't take watching all of our friends die of starvation and have the Capitol do nothing about it. We found a hole in the fence (which wasn't very hard) and had been fending for ourselves ever since. We were in even worse shape than when we had started (if that's possible). We had been walking until either our feet went numb or it was too dark to see, so we had covered some pretty serious ground. At least, I thought we did. With all of the bear attacks, tracker jacker incidents, and run-ins with monsters, we had lost a lot of time.  
We were barely alive when a bronze bull slowly walked in front of us. It huffed as Percy and I huddled close. We were so weak, we didn't even bother to fight back. A few tears streamed down my face as I pulled Percy closer. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for death, but it never came. I cracked my eye open and saw a boy about my age, riding the bull as it bucked like crazy and shot fireballs into the air. He was yanking wires and bolts out of its neck as it kept jumping and shooting fire out of its snot. Soon, the bull powered down and the trees were engulfed in flames. He got off and yelled "RUN!" We ran away as fast as we could, but we didn't get far before we got tired. I tried to keep running, but my legs went limp and I collapsed.  
I couldn't move a thing. My vision started turning black around the edges. I was only able to make out the boy's face. All I could describe him as is one of Santa's Latino Elf. His eyebrows were scrunched together in a worried expression. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. The rest of my vision was swallowed up with the darkness and I blacked out. When I came to, I found myself at the Camp Half-Blood infirmary. In all of the chaos, I lost my favorite ring that belonged to my grandmother before she died. In the next week, I learned that my father was Poseidon, I learned that I was in a secret 14th District, and I learned that boy's name. Leo Valdez had saved my life.  
(Right Now)  
As he approached the stage, I realized just how nervous he was. He was staring down at his feet and twiddling with a spring. I almost forgot where I was when Zeedee asked "Any tributes?" I looked over at Percy, but he seemed a bit preoccupied with Annabeth. I looked to the right a bit and saw Jason and Piper making out. Two of us were about to die and they were sucking face. Nice (Note the sarcasm). No one was stepping up, so she just walked back to her seat as Chiron walked up in her place with a scroll. He unrolled the paper and started reading, but I sort of zoned out after a while. I was thinking about this kid that saved me from starvation. This kid that brought me to my real home. This kid that I was going to have to kill in a matter of weeks.  
I snapped out of my daze just in time to see Chiron motion for us to shake hands. He offered me his hand, and I took it. It was really boney and warm. I looked him in the eye and saw a glint of pure terror. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and let go. As the anthem began, so did my journey to fame and fortune or (more likely) painful death.


	3. The Train

The anthem finally ended and we were escorted to separate rooms by the Peacekeepers. As I looked around at the fancy room I was lead to, I heard the door click behind me. The carpet was very thick and my feet sank with every step. Every inch of the chairs and couches were covered with velvet. I only saw it once when the Aphrodites decided that it was 'chic' and wore it absolutely everywhere. I ran my fingers over the couch arm as I took a seat. I waited to see what was supposed to happen, when the door opened.  
Percy and my mom walked in and closed it behind them. As soon as they saw me, they ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. I felt crushed under the hug and I was only able to muster up "Can't...Breathe!" They let go of me as I gasped for air. "What were you thinking?!" Percy yelled. "I was thinking you would turn into a sad sack if your girlfriend died." I shot back. He blushed. "Calm down, kids." Mom intervened. She turned to him and said "Percy, don't yell at your sister. She made a huge sacrifice for you and Annabeth. Be thankful." Uh oh, I thought to myself, She's in 'Mom Mode' again. "And Andi," she started, turning to me. "That was a very dangerous thing you did, but it's your decision, so I will support you completely." She pulled me into another hug. "Be careful." she whispered in my ear. When she pulled back, I looked back at Percy. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Percy, I WILL make it back. You're not gonna get rid of me that easy." I teased, trying to lighten the mood. I failed miserably. "How do you know?" he asked me, his voice breaking. "Look if it makes you feel better, I swear on the River of Styx that I will make it back alive." I told him, giving him a serious look. He hesitated, then gave me one more hug. "Ok, time's up." The door opened and 4 Peacekeepers came into the room. They each took one of their arms, and lead them out.  
It was about a minute before the door opened again and Annabeth came in. "Oh my gods! Andi!" she yelled. She tackled me in a hug, causing me to stumble. She was practically choking me, so when I tried to tell her to let go, all that came out were grunts. She got the hint and backed off. I coughed and hacked, trying to get my breath back. Her eyes were kind of puffy and she was trembling. "Why did you do that for me?" she asked me. "Well, for one thing, Percy would have probably turned into a mopey git." She gave me a weak chuckle. "And I couldn't live with your dead body on my conscience. I wasn't going to let you die and have me be the girl who could have done something." She gave me a smile. "Hey, I got something for you." She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a leather necklace. When she opened her fist, a little wooden owl charm sat in her palm. "Chiron told us about this thing called a 'tribute token'. Apparently, you can take one think with you from your district. Please, take it." She placed it in my hand and closed my fist around it. "It's my way of saying 'Thank you.'" "Your time is up." I heard a Peacekeeper yell from outside. "See you soon." I told her. She turned and walked out the door.  
About 2 minutes later, a Peacekeeper walked in and escorted me to the train station. The place was so packed with reporters and cameras, some of the Peacemakers had to use their staffs to keep them back. I caught a few TVs around the station and saw my face. I had held up pretty well. Then came Leo's. He was a wreak, his eyes puffy, his curls even messier than usual, and oil splotches all over his clothes and face. We met up at the train doors, stood there for a while, and let the cameras soak in our image. After a minute of just standing there, they finally let us inside. I was relieved to get out of view of the paparazzi.  
When the train started, I almost fell over, but I was able to grip the corner of a nearby table before hitting the ground. When I regained my footing, I got a glimpse of just how awesome the train was. We had our own bedrooms, our own bathrooms, even our own dressing rooms. Zeedee told me we can do pretty much anything we wanted as long as we got back for dinner, so the first thing I did was change out of that gods-awful outfit. I took a hot shower and changed into this.  
When I came back out, a petite girl, about my age, with long, caramel hair was setting the table for supper. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I ended up just pushing it to the back of my mind, sitting at the table, and waiting for them to show up. The only problem with that plan was that I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew that girl, and watching her flutter around with plates and glasses didn't exactly help me forget  
After 5 minutes of fidgeting, Zeedee finally came to the table with Leo close at her heels. They sat at the table and waited some more for our food to come in. The girl came in and gave us each a plate of lamb stew. I told her "Thank you.", only to receive silence. She scurried out with her head ducked low. "Well, THAT was kind of rude. What's her problem?" I thought out loud. "Oh, she's an Avox. She can't speak." she explained. "Why?" I asked. She gave me a 'really?' face before saying "She has no tongue." _Oh. _We sat in silence for a while, eating our stew, when a loud voice pierced through the awkwardness, screaming "WHAT UP, CUPCAKES!" A short, fat man with a baseball bat in his hands strolled toward us, singing under his breath "I'll whack you in the head with my baseball bat." His hooves stamped the ground as he happily skipped into the room. Yeah, he didn't have feet. He was half-goat from the waste down.  
Zeedee let out an exasperated sigh and said "What do you WANT, Mr. Hedge?" "Oh, I was just walkin' by and- Oh! Is that lamb stew?!" He jacked my plate and chomped it down, china and all. If he hadn't eaten MY food, it would've been pretty funny. She cleared her throat and said "Kids, this is your mentor, Mr. Hedge. He will be helping you with the Games." _Oh, Hades no!_ I jumped up and said "You're going to leave us in the hands of that?" I made a huge hand motion at his face. "You're not so pretty yourself, cupcake." That was in. I judo-kicked him, took a steak knife from the table, and held it at his neck. "Don't mess with me, goat-man." I grunted through gritted teeth. He then had the nerve to laugh right in my face. "Well, you're a feisty one now, aren't ya?" I dug the blade deeper into his stumpy little neck. "One more word and I swear to gods that I will spill your blood all over the train!" Zeedee and Leo pulled at me, and I reluctantly got off the little shrimp. "I like this one." he told her. "What can you do?" he asked Leo. He lit his hand and threw it at a house plant sitting nearby. It got seared, as well as the wall around it. "Eh." he said with a bored face. I swear to the gods that he will not make it out of here alive.  
After that, the awkward silence returned. When the Avox came and replaced my food, Leo's eyes went wide. She briskly walked away with her head down. I still had the nagging feeling that I knew her, and I think that Leo felt the same. After we finished our stew, I pulled him off to the side while Zeedee was lecturing Hedge on 'proper table etiquette'. "I feel like I know that Avox, and I sure as Hades know you do. Do you remember anything about her?" I questioned him. He went really stiff before whispering "Calypso." Just the name sent it all flooding back to me. "Son of a Centaur." I mutter.  
(3 months ago)  
I had just gotten out of the infirmary about 10 minutes ago and there I was, again, with a broken leg. Just my luck. We were dropping like flies, with more of us in the infirmary than the battlefield. I thought we were royally screwed, the Fates playing a cruel trick with no way out. Then, as I watch the failing battle go down, something crashed from the sky, into the middle of the fight. A girl with long, caramel hair and almond eyes had just flown into battle. She was kickin' butt like there was no tomorrow, BOOM! Enemy demigod, dead, BOOM! Cyclops, decapitated, BOOM! Kronos, stabbed in the foot. I was really impressed. Until she got tackled by 3 Peacemakers and got arrested.  
Leo was fighting one of the traitors from the Hermes cabin when he noticed this girl getting taken away. He dropped everything and tried to stop them from dragging her away. He left his guard down and didn't see the manticore until it was too late. He was stabbed with the monster's scorpion tail and was sent to the infirmary immediately to remove the poison.  
When he was strong enough to stay awake for more than 5 minutes, I decided to ask him a few questions. Turns out that her name was Calypso. Yes, THE Calypso, as in the one from Ogya. Wait, Ogaya? Ogygia? Whatever, it was some enchanted island she could never leave. Well, apparently, Leo washed up on the shore and couldn't get off. They had this really complicated relationship and he ended up kissing her before he left. I didn't really care, though. I just wanted to know who she was to him. I'm not jealous! You're jealous! Oh, whatever. Either way, thanks to her, we survived the war. I told myself I would never forget her for saving my home.  
(Right Now)  
Why do I insist on lying to myself? I look at the poor girl picking up our plates and mentally punch myself for not recognizing her sooner. I shook it out of my head, knowing that I couldn't change anything, and joined Zeedee on the couch to watch the Reapings. At about District 5, I kind of dozed off and had to get cold water to the face to see our district. I have gotta say, I was killin' that dress! Leo, though, looked even worse on TV than he did in person. He slumped as he walked, a dumbstruck look on his face. He looked like he was really surprised and on the verge of tears. It cut to my face and I realized that I had a far away look in my eyes as I flashed back. The whole Reaping, I was either watching Leo mess with his spring or staring off into space. I pinched the bridge of my nose, hating my ADHD for making me look like a complete bimbo on national TV.  
When the anthem ended, we split off into our own rooms, Hedge going Zeus knows where and me going off into my room. I shuffled through the drawers and found a nightgown. I brought it into the bathroom and changed, feeling the smooth silk against my fingers. I hopped into my huge bed and tried to sleep, but the roar of the tracks kept me wide awake. I just sat there, staring at the canopy my bed and thinking about life. Dangerous, right? I was confusing myself way too much, so I got out of bed and snuck out my room. I tiptoed through the kitchen and out the door to the back of the train. The wind whipped in my ears as I stared at the open fields. I climbed the ladder to the top of the train and crawled to the front of the train. I shakily stood up and let the wind billow around me. My gown blew behind me and my hair flew in all directions as we sped down the track. I just stayed there, letting the cold air sting my face.  
"Couldn't sleep?" I jumped and spun around, almost falling off the roof. "What are you doing up here?!" I whisper-shout at Leo. "What about you, huh?" he asked. "I don't think that has anything to do with why you're up here." I shot back. "Oh, but I think it does. Next time, you may want to be a little quieter." He stomped the roof and it vibrated over the rush of the wind. "Hey! Keep it down!" Someone yelled from under us. I snickered while Leo just stood there with one of those _Oh_ looks. "Now, why are YOU here?" he asked. I turn my head around, looking at the open fields as we hurtle along the tracks. "I just needed some time to think." I say. "By doing a scene from Titanic?" he chided. "Oh shut up!" I laugh, nudging him aside as I walk back to my car.  
I just realized how cold it was up here. I literally couldn't feel my fingers. The dress was really thin, so I didn't get much help there. I felt goosebumps form on my arms and legs. "Hey, you look cold." he said behind me. I hadn't realized I'd been shivering. "Here." He took off his army jacket and draped it over my shoulders. "No, I'll be fine." I say, taking it off and giving it to him. He was wearing a tank top stained with motor oil. "No, I insist." he said, pushing it back. "Stop! Really, that's enough!" I shout. "What's your problem?" he yells back. "OH! I'm sorry! Is the fact that we're supposed to KILL each other not enough for you?!" I yell. There was a thud under my feet. "HEY! Didn't you hear me?! KEEP IT DOWN!" "SHUT UP FOR GODS SAKES!" I scream. "YEAH! YOU SHOULD!" _Oh gods, that is it. _I stomped as loud as I could on the roof and stormed off. Screw that guy, screw Leo, screw the Hunger Games, and screw Panem. All I care about now is leaving with my life and my drama card intact.  
I collapsed on the bed and stared at my canopy again. I was exhausted and ready to pass out. "Andi!" someone yelled from outside my room. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Go away!" I yell back. He started banging on the door, trying to get me to open it. I just shoved my face into my pillow and rolled over. The muffled sound of his constant knocking eventually stopped, letting me drift off to sleep.  
I was back at camp, sitting on the beach, looking over the waves as they crashed on the sand. A certain peacefulness filled my being as I looked at my father's kingdom. "Hello Andi." someone said behind me. Just from the saltiness in the air, I could tell who it was. "Hey Dad." I say, turning to face the sea god. His sea-green eyes sparkled, his jet black hair cow-licked in every direction, and his smile crinkled his eyes and cheeks. His teeth were blindingly white and I had to squint to look him in the face. "Long time no see." he chuckled. I rolled my eyes.  
"So, how've you been?" he said casually. "Well, let's see. I got picked for a fight to the death, I can't stand the guy that's going with me, and I'm just meeting my dad for the first time through a dream." I said, rolling my eyes again. "Well, actually, I'm not here to just catch up." "That figures." I mumble. "I'm here to tell you that demigods and mortals alike are in grave danger." he said solemnly."Of course. As soon as one danger dies, another rises, all of that crap." First Gaea, and now this. Gods, the Fates INSIST on being difficult. "You must do your best to stop this great evil." "Dad, let's face it, we all know the drill. We learn about it, we figure out the prophecy, we slay it." I tell him. He chuckles and says "Ah, if only it were that easy. I don't have much longer, so I just want to say the Gods will be ever in your favor." Huh? Before I could say anything, I was looking at my canopy.


	4. The Prep

There was a pounding on my door as I sat up. "Andi!" Zeedee called. "Breakfast!" I groggily got out of bed, shuffled through my drawers, and changed into this. As I walked to the table, I thought about what Dad said last night. Great evil? Greater than even Gaea? How is that possible?! And the Gods will be ever in your favor? What does that MEAN?! _Oh gods, my brain hurts. _I slumped down in my chair as the thoughts swirled in my head. I looked around at the table, trying to stop my mind from imploding. Hedge was shoving his face with sausages and pancakes, Zeedee was just looking at him in disgust, and Leo was looking down at his food, avoiding eye contact. What a nice little team of misfits.  
"Well," Zeedee said, breaking the awkward silence. "Leo, Andi, as you probably know, tonight is the Opening Ceremonies." _NOOOO! Today was a happy little day off!_ (Note the sarcasm) "When we pull into the station, you will be sent off with your own team of professionals to prepare." She got up and left, not before smacking Hedge on the side of the head. He lifted his head, sausages sticking out of his mouth and syrup dripping down his chin. It took all I had not to bust out laughing. He shoved his head back in his food and continued to wolf down his eggs. There was still a lot of tension in the air, Leo still playing with his food and me starting to feel guilty about snapping at him last night. I got sick of it and just walked back to my room.  
(3 hours later)  
"OW!" I yelp again as Mirana yanked yet another wax strip from my skin. "Girls do this WILLINGLY?!" I complained through gritted teeth. "Don't worry sweety! After this, you will be... more manageable." she giggled. Her voice was way too high. Every time she spoke, I lost a little more of my hearing. "Alright, this is the last one. Ready?" I gripped the chair as she laid down the last strip on my arm. She yanked it off with a long, painful _RIP!_ "Dear gods, why?!" I cried out. After hours of primping and perfecting every one of my flaws, I could literally feel nothing. She helped me out of the chair and into the middle of the room. "Drop." she told me. I untied the thin robe wrapped around me and threw it to the side. She backed up and looked me up and down. "Aggy, Cessy, could you come in here?" she piped through the door.  
Two girls came through the door, one happily skipping along while the other lagged behind. "Don't CALL me that! It's Cecelia!" the girl moaned. "Oh, lighten up, Cessy." Marina joked. The girl that skipped in was grinning ear to ear. "YAY! My first year and I get to work with the new district!" She skipped around some more as I gaped at yet another group of misfits for District 14.  
Mirana cleared her throat and said "As you can see, we're pretty new to this." "New? HA!" Cecelia scoffed "You guys may be new, but I've been in the business for FIVE YEARS! Is that NEW to you?!" Cue eye roll. Mirana giggled "Cessy, don't lie. If you were really working with prep crews for THAT long, you would have been fired by now." _Holy Hephaestus, what did I just get sucked into? _"I. AM NOT. CESSY! IT'S CECELIA!" she screamed. She punched Mirana square in the face, then Hades let loose. Mirana tackled Cecelia to the ground and started yanking clumps of her hair while Cecelia tried to strangle her. _Oh gods, this place is a nut house!_ They rolled around on the ground, screaming at each other, throwing punches, and just straight up brawling on the Remake Center floor.  
The other girl had just come down to earth when she realized what was going on. She yelled "Guys! Cut it out! We have a job to do!" The girls didn't hear her and just kept fighting. "Guys!" she yelled again, running up to the two of them. She tried to pull them apart, screaming "Stop it! We need to work togeth-" She couldn't finish her sentence before a sickening _CRACK! _filled the room. I heard a sob escape one of their mouths as they stopped. The girl kneeled there with a bloody nose and tears streaming down here cheeks. "AGNUS!" Mirana cried. She pushed Cecelia off of her and crawled over to the girl. "Oh gods, I'm SO sorry!" She pulled her into a hug. Another sob left her lips. "Come on, let's get this over with." Cecelia muttered. "OOOOH NO! WE are not going to do this! I'm taking Agnus to the hospital wing. YOU stay and finish up with her."  
She huffed as Mirana walked out, telling Agnus "Ok, just breath. Atta girl. Everything will be all right." As soon as she was out of earshot, Cecelia spun around on her heel and said "Can you BELIEVE that girl?!" She picked up the tweezers and started plucking random bits of hair that were leftover from the wax. "You TRY to help-" "Ow." "But they just push you away-" "Ow." "And then they think-" "Ow." "That YOU'RE-" "Ow!" "The bad guy!" "OW!" I yelped. "Too hard!" "Do you THINK I care?!" she asked, exasperated. "Do you think I care about your petty little problems?!" I shot back. "You know what? FORGET THIS!" She grabbed her purse and said "I'm going for a smoke." She stormed out, leaving me alone in the Remake Center.  
A/N: UR MA GURD! SOOO MUCH DRAMA!... Sorry, I just HAD to say it. Continue.  
(30 minutes later)  
_Gods, they STILL haven't come back?_ After 5 minutes of nothingness, I caved and tied my robe back on. Now I was just pacing. "Girls, are you done in there?" I heard someone call from the other side of the door. It opened, revealing a woman dressed in a long, plain white dress. Her eyes seemed to change color every second, from the natural blues, greens, and browns to obscure purples, reds, yellows, and any other color you could imagine. She looked around the room. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Those girls." she mumbled. "Well, you look decent enough, and since I have no idea where the girls are, we may as well begin." I untied my robe and took it off. "WOAH! Ok, no need for that." she told me. _Huh? _I picked it up and put it back on.  
"Walk with me." She opened the door and practically strutted out. I hesitantly followed her into the foyer. It was fairly empty, with just a table set up in the middle of the room and loveseats circling it. "Come come, sit sit." she told me as she took her own seat. I simply sat at the one straight across from her. She pushed a button on the table and it split in two. A smaller table rose out with a plate of tea and cookies. "Is this our lunch?" I questioned, looking at the dainty cookies. "Oh no! Of course not!" she said as she moved it out of the way. "THIS is your lunch."  
She tapped another button on the smaller table and again, it split open. This time, the table that came up had a sort of seafood platter, piled high with shrimp, scallops, calamari, catfish, crab, and a 3-prong fork sticking out the top. "And I was informed that your district is very religious, so..." She clicked yet another button and it split in half. _How far does this thing go?_ Sitting in the middle of the last tier was a sort of fire pit. A small flame waved across the table, giving me slight homesickness. I shook the thought out of my head and turned back to my food.  
I hadn't realized that the last time I had eaten was back at camp. The first meal got goat-nabbed by Mister Can't-Get-My-Own-Food and breakfast was ruined for me because of last night. I gripped the fork and yanked it out of the tower of fish. I grabbed the biggest shrimp, a chunk of calamari, and a scallop and threw it into the flame. Then, I prayed _Dad, next time we meet, don't be so cryptic_. I looked back at my food and literally started shoving it into my mouth. The woman was not amused. "You know, you have a fork." she told me. I just ignored her.  
She tried to distract herself from my eating. "I'm sure that the girls have already told you that I'm Monique." "No. Not really." I was able to fit between scallops. She laughed. "Ah, those girls. So I'm assuming you know nothing about me?" "Absolutely not." She gave me a smile, flashing her pearly whites. I literally saw spots. "Well then, I think we should get to know each other. As you already know, my name in Monique, and this is my first year helping with the Hunger Games." She looked at me expectantly. When I realized I was supposed to say something now, I said "My name is Andi Jackson, and this is the first year for District 14 to be in the Hunger Games."  
She looked at me with a little gleam in her eye. "Would you happen to be Percy Jackson's sister?" _Oh gods, here it comes. _"Uh huh." I said simply, forgetting my food. She wistfully looked into the distance and said "Ah, yes. He was always one of my favorites." I looked at her, confused. "How do you know him anyway?" She looked at my face and said "You do look a lot like him." "You still haven't answered me." I told her, already feeling a little pestered. "Him and Annabeth make a good couple. Strong bond." she said absently, taking a sip of tea. "How do you know so much? Has the Capitol been watching us?" I said, getting antsy. What if they WERE watching us? Surely there will have been a Peacekeeper who could see through the mist.  
"Oh no, sweetheart, settle down." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. "I know because it's my own handy work." Another smile crept onto her face. It took me a moment to process what she said. "Wait, you're not-" I stopped mid-sentence, not believing myself. "The one and only." she said cheekily. "Aphrodite." I whispered, astonished. "And the others?" "All children of the gods." she said. "Agnus is, strangely enough, a child of Athena, Mirana is my own lovely daughter, and Cecelia is your sister. Well, half-sister." _Of course SHE'S my sister._ I thought to myself. "Why are you here? Now?" I ask her. "Why, to help you of course!" she told me as if it were obvious. There was an awkward pause as I tried to come up with the right words. What WOULD I say? _But of course! _She didn't seem like the type to joke around too much. _Really? _That just seems naive and stupid.  
Before I could come up with something to say, she just said "Well, we may want to get to work." We got up and walked back into our little studio, but not before I snatched a tea cookie. I nibbled at it as we walked through the doorway. Mirana and Agnus were standing in front of us, Agnus with her nose all patched up and Mirana looking REALLY guilty. "Mom, I can explain-" "No need." she said coldly. She looked me up and down and said "This isn't really working for me. Mirana, get the tweezers." She scurried off and picked up the tweezers Cecelia left behind. She walked up to me as I untied my robe and started circling me. At random times, she would swoop in and pluck another stray hair. After, like, 15 minutes of this, Aphrodite... Monique... whatever her name is, held up her hand and said "Stop." She looked me up and down, twisted her wrist, and snapped her fingers.  
I looked down and saw I was wearing a flowy floor length dress. No design, no flashy colors, just a midnight blue dress. "Ok, so what is your district product?" "I have no idea." I told her. "Really, we just divide the cabins to help with each of the districts." I couldn't count them off on the top of my head, but I knew that the Demeter cabin helped 11, the Ares cabin helped 2, Percy and me helped 4, and I think Jason helped 5. "Well, in that case..." She snapped her fingers and instantly my dress's design transformed from blank blue to ocean waves. "With every move you make, the pattern changes." I moved my right foot forward and the scene changed from water to a lightning storm. "Enchanted silk woven by Athena herself."  
I spun around in a circle, watching as the storm turned to vines that turned to coal that turned to gold that turned to a sort of patchwork that, finally, turned back to waves. "Why are there only 6?" "Well, Leo needs something to wear, now doesn't he?" she giggles. "Who's working with him, anyway?" A short pause came around before she said "His father." "Oh." I looked down at my feet. "What about shoes?" She snapped her fingers again and I was wearing 6 inch heels. Yes, HEELS, not wedges, like I'm used too. "Gods, are you trying to kill me?" Mirana giggled. I almost forgot she was there. "Don't worry. You're blessed with grace." Suddenly, a little pink heart bracelet appeared on my wrist. "Whoa! The Hades?" I looked back up, but she was gone. _ZEUS! Why do gods have to be so vague?! _  
Not much had changed by the time we were done. I had some light makeup, a little lip gloss and light green eyeshadow, and my hair was done up in ringlets. A single bluish green streak was added to "catch attention" apparently. I'm not sure how that's going to work out, though. _Look at that GORGEOUS dress from District 1! Oh my god, look at that girl! She has a green streak in her hair! SOOOO much better!_ My hair was pulled back with a simple black headband. "Stunning! Beautiful!" the girls gasped to themselves. "I'm back." I heard someone say. "Cessy, just go. We're done anyway." Mirana told her. I followed them out to the foyer.  
When Leo came out, I couldn't help but laugh. He was wearing a shirt that reached down to his knees, black dress pants, and a freakin' cape! What really cracked me up was his makeup. Yes, he had makeup. He had glittery gold eyeliner, charcoal eyeshadow, and I even saw a glint of lip gloss. His hair just topped the cake. His tips were dyed red, orange, and yellow, so his head looked like it's on fire. "Yeah, yeah. My dad thought it was funny too. He took pictures and sent 'em to Olympus." I just laughed harder.  
They led us to the floor level, which was basically a huge stable. The tributes were loaded onto their own chariots and brought out by 4 horses. Ours were dyed midnight blue and covered with body glitter. _Is EVERYTHING in the Capitol dyed or glittered? Or both? _Since our stylists had both disappeared, we had to set ourselves up. Without warning, the horses started trotting out of the stable. We stumbled a bit... Oh, who am I kidding? I almost fell out the back, but I didn't, and that's what's important. "Gods, were the fake eyelashes really necessary?" Leo murmured. I giggled "But they make you look so pretty!" "Shut up." We had our signature awkward silence before I blurted "I'm sorry about last night." He looked at me and said "Don't worry. I'm over it."  
After 10 minutes of prepping the chariots, the opening music began and we finally started to leave. Districts 1, 2, and 3 clear the gates. The crowd goes crazy. 4, 5, and 6 make their way through. Gods, my hands are sweating. 7, 8, 9. I'm so nervous. This could make or break us in the Arena. 10, 11, 12. Before I realize what I'm doing, I reach out and grab his hand. He looks taken aback, but doesn't let go. 14. The horses pulled us into the open. The crowd was cheering "District 12! District 12!" I didn't notice what they were dressed in until now. They were on fire. Literally, they were wearing fire. Heads began to turn toward us. There were awestruck faces, there were people laughing at us, and there were the people who were still staring at District 12. I meekly waved at the crowd as Leo just pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look." I heard him say. I wasn't sure what he meant, but then I saw the screens.  
We looked pretty amazing. His makeup actually made him look good, more defined. The material trailed behind us, glittering as it changed scenes. I focused on my own face. I loved how the makeup made me look almost elegant. Even with the headband, my curls framed my face perfectly. The streak in my hair and my eyeshadow really made my eyes pop. Same thing with Leo. The childish gleam in his eye was even brighter under the lights. A few cheers rose from the crowd. Then a few more. Then another 100 joined in. It gave me hope. Maybe I COULD win. I mean, with all the cheers, there has to be at least a few people willing to give sponsor points, and with enough of those, I'm as good as gold.  
I started to loosen up a bit. I waved with more confidence, smiled bigger, and even blew a few kisses. A few people who brought flowers started throwing them at me. I was able to catch a carnation coming from my side of the crowd. I flashed another smile in that direction and blew another kiss. "Come on! You gotta ham it up!" I whispered to him through a smile. "Ugh! Fine." He let go of my hand and randomly started flexing. The crowd lost it. Girls screeched "Leo!" while everyone else just laughed, including me. I looked back at the crowd and saw a little girl who couldn't have been more than 7 years old. She was holding up a little sign with sloppily written words saying _14 4 The Win!_ I chuckled, smiled, blew her a kiss, and threw her a rose.  
"Andi! Andi!" people yelled from all directions. Granted, most of them were teenage guys, but sponsors are sponsors. I blew more and more kisses into the crowd as we moved down the path. When we finally made it to the City Circle, I finally figured out the whole point of this. It was basically a chance to get more air time for the tributes before we died. Our images flashed over the screens once again as the anthem played in the background. Literally all we did was stand there and try not to get our costumes burned by District 12 (With Leo, it was going to happen one way or another, so I didn't care). Once the whole thing was over with, the horses brought us to our temporary housing. The Training Center.


	5. The Center

As soon as all of us were in the stables, they shoved us all into an elevator and sent us straight up to our rooms. I'll be honest, the whole ride I couldn't take my eyes off of District 12. Their costumes were just... wow. I would say that I wanted their stylists, but I have a feeling the gods would not be too happy about it. After the first few tributes got off, Leo realized that I was staring at 12. "They aren't THAT impressive." he whispered at me. "The little wimps don't know how to play with REAL fire." He lit his index finger with a tiny flame. "I think you may want to put that away." I stifled a giggle. "You may set your pretty cape on fire." "Do you think?" he asked. I laughed.  
Pretty soon, the only people left on the elevator were us and 12. The silence that stood between us was borderline unhealthy. "You look amazing!" I told them, trying to make things less awkward. "Your stylists must be really creative to think of that." They just looked at me. The elevator stopped on their floor, and they stepped out. "Well!" I exclaimed. Leo collapsed on the floor, laughing like a freakin' hyena. "Zeus, that was the best you could come up with?!" he was able to say through his fits of laughter. "Hey, I didn't hear YOU coming up with anything, pretty boy." "Whatever." was all he was able to get out.  
The elevator doors slid open, revealing Zeedee and Hedge, waiting for us. "You looked GORGEOUS!" Zeedee gushed. "After that performance, I wouldn't be surprised if all of PANEM wanted to sponsor you two." Hedge looked Leo up and down as he stopped laughing. He said "You look like a girl." and took a huge bite out of a corn can. "Yeah yeah yeah," Leo said. "Now, where do I get rid of this?" He gestured his make-up. "I don't think you can get rid of your face." I joked. He just rolled his eyes. "Come on, pretty boy." Hedge muttered. _I know, right? _He grabbed Leo's arm and dragged him to a random room in the hallway. "Should we wait for them?" I asked her. "We should. It would be rude to start without them." she told me (Shocker). After a few minutes, she gave up on the recap and just took me to my room.  
"Don't be up too late now." she told me. I smiled politely and waited for her to leave the room. When the door slammed behind her, I fell onto the bed and kicked off those monster heels. I basically laid limp on the bed for 5 minutes before finally deciding that I should change. I rummaged through my clothes and pulled out this. I figured I wasn't going to wake up early enough to get ready then, so I was just going to change now and sleep in. Maybe Aphrodite was supposed to plan my outfit for tomorrow, but considering she hasn't shown her face since she disappeared, I wanted to keep it safe. I hopped under the covers and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out cold.  
The next morning, I woke up to a face full of ice cold water. It may seem unpleasant for mortals, but for me, that's like 3 espressos and a Monster chugged at the same time. I sat up with a sudden jolt of energy. Hedge was standing next to my bed, just munching away on a metal bucket. "I'm not sure if I should hug you, strangle you, or both." "Good morning to you too, cupcake." He look down at my feet. "Why the shoes?" I gave him a look. "Really? I'm wearing a freakin' necklace to bed and you ask 'Why the shoes'?" "Whatever. Get up, you got training." I rolled my eyes. He just trotted out with his little goat tail held high.  
I threw off the covers, literally jumped out of bed, and ran into the dining room. Zeedee, Leo, and Hedge were waiting for me. "Now that everyone is here," Zeedee shot me a look, "We have matters to attend to. Mr. Hedge?"He burped up bits of metal and grass all over the floor. I had to bite my cheek to keep for laughing. She glared at him. He smirked, then said "Ok, so, private training. I can train you alone, or-" "I'll take door number two." I interrupted. He threw me a look before continuing, "Or you could train together. Personally, I would pick the going alone." "Why?" Leo asked. "Because if you have to kill each other, you want the other to know as little as possible, if you know what I'm saying." "No." he said stupidly. I rolled my eyes and said "We'll just train together."  
Zeedee let out a breath. "Well, now that that's settled," She pushed us toward the elevator, saying "Chop chop, we don't want to be late." She practically punched the bottom button once we were all in, and barely even then. Hedge's tail and Leo's foot almost got butchered by the door.  
We flew down to the bottom floor, and when I say we flew, I mean we FLEW. My feet ended up a good inch off of the ground before we stopped. I, of course, face-planted on the cold metal floor while everyone else (even Leo) was able to stay on their feet. As I peeled myself from the elevator, Zeedee said "One last thing. Please, don't let Mr. Hedge into the Training Center. If he does..." She looked down at Hedge with his baseball bat high above his head. "Don't let him into the Training Center." The doors slid wide open, letting bright light flood into the tiny room. He tried to bolt, but I tackled him to the ground. Let's just say, the fight wasn't pretty. In the end, Leo got a good conk in the head and Hedge was hog-tied in the corner, trying to reach his bat.  
I brushed the dust off of my clothes and saw that everyone was staring at us. _Awkward... _We crossed the room to have our district pinned to the back of our shirts while everyone just stared. Leo was walking a little weird, but he seemed fine. I walked up to the tense little circle in the middle of the room and squeezed in between 12 and 1. I was able to catch a few bits and pieces of the speech they were giving, like you have to work with professionals, don't kill each other, but most of it got drowned out by the ADHD.  
Once we were let out on our own, I wandered around the circle of stations, trying to figure out where to go. Camouflage, fishing, and swimming seemed pointless (Hello?! Daughter of the Sea God here!) and I can naturally handle any weapon: knives, swords, hand-to-hand, tridents, bows and arrows, so basically more than half of the stations, useless. They already taught us the normal survival techniques at camp, like hunting animals (or monsters), snare-setting, shelters, fire-making, tree climbing... What I'm saying is that the stations were basically pointless. The only ones that could actually teach me stuff I didn't already know were knots, edible plants and insects, hammock-making (?), weightlifting, and 'The Gauntlet'.  
The most useful in the arena seemed to be the edible plants and insects, so I made my way over and got familiar. It was just memory, really. The trick was to drill it into your head enough to actually remember it when you're starving and desperate. _Now, which ones were good? The crickets... _DING! _The brown flower..._ DING! _And the... stringy moss? _BEEP! _CRAP! _I heard a ton of noise coming from next to me. A girl with red hair was pushing those buttons like her life depended on it. It probably did, actually. Anyway, she was going a mile a minute, a green light flashing on every 5 seconds. _DANG!_ She looked over at me with a bored expression and just kept blazing through.  
At that point, I just felt self-conscious and inadequate, so I drifted off and started walking toward 'The Gauntlet'. It was pretty impressive, but it was nothing compared to the obstacle course back home. I watched as some of the stronger tributes cleared it. For mortals, I guess, it must have been pretty difficult, because a ton of them ended up getting knocked off by another tribute or the actual course. I, however, could probably finish it in 2.2 seconds, but watching how vicious these people were, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to draw attention to myself. They'd be able to take out hordes of monsters single-handedly, so it really wouldn't be a good idea to make myself a threat.  
As I was walking around the circle a forth time, I fell flat on my face (again). _THUMP!_ _What the Hades?_ I twisted around a little to see that I'd been taken down by 12 (the guy, of course). "What the heck, 12?! They said we can't kill each other yet!" I yelled at him. "First of all, my name is Peeta, and second of all, I was not trying to kill you!" "Well, even if you weren't trying, right now, you're succeeding. My ribs are being crushed and I'm pretty sure you're sitting on my liver." "Oh." He rolled off and let me take a deep breath. I coughed a little, turned toward him, and said "Now that I'm not your bean bag chair, can you please explain why you tackled me?" "I didn't tackle you!" he insisted. "I fell on you!" "Now how is that possible?!" He pointed up. I looked and let out a little squeal. "YAY! ROPES COURSE!"  
I jumped up and looked around. _Where am I supposed to-_ "There!" I ran over to the far right corner and shimmed up the dangling rope. The course seemed kind of complicated, actually. The first layer (Yes, LAYER) was running horizontal to the starting rope and the second was going vertical. That's where it started getting a little confusing. Hundreds upon hundreds of ropes intersected each other, making weird shapes and angles. Most people would get tangled up and fall to the ground. I, on the other hand, am not most people. I gripped the first rope, swung myself to layer two, then three, then four. _Just like the Labyrinth, _I told myself as I looked out into the mess of ropes. After I wriggled through the first cluster, I was unstoppable. Flips, tricks, and overall fancy footwork were all I did until lunch was called.  
I landed with a back flip from the 6th layer. "Dang." someone said behind me. I spun around on my heel, only to find Leo smirking at me. "Are you part monkey or something?" "I was about to ask you the same thing." I pulled at my ears and puffed out my cheeks. "Wow, really mature." he chuckled. "I know, right?" We walked over to the area set up for lunch.  
The Careers (Districts 1, 2, and 4) swarmed around one of the tables, loudly chewing on their food, while everyone else was cowering in random parts of the room. I walked over, grabbed a plate, filled it to the brim with every meat available, a chunk of each bread loaf, and some kind of berry they had set up. "Aren't girls supposed to be worried about their weight?" Leo asked from behind me. I glared at him over my shoulder and said "Ok, one, that's sexist, two, if you haven't noticed, I'm not the average girl, and three, I'm going into a fight to the death that may not have ANY food whatsoever. I can stand to gain a couple of pounds." I turned back around and scanned the room for an empty seat. _Wimp, wimp, wimp, dogs... THERE!_ I made my way through the people and plopped right down across from District 12.  
Leo reluctantly sat next to me as they stared at us with confused looks on their faces. "Um... Why-" The girl cut herself off and looked at Peeta. He kept looking at us, me specifically, and said "Why are you here?" I rolled my eyes. "Because the Capitol requires an annual manslaughter to be broadcasted on national TV." He raised an eyebrow. I know that look all too well. _You know what I meant_. "Well, I figured since you practically killed me, you owe me a solid. Plus I didn't want to hang around... them." I gestured at the groups of tributes that were crying their eyes out and stopped at the Careers. Peeta shrugged his shoulders and said "Suit yourself."  
They weren't exactly the most social people. They didn't talk much, and when they did, it was usually small talk like "How've you been holding up?", "This Capitol food is amazing", and "Ok, now laugh like I said something funny." I cleaned my plate and immediately felt bloated. I pushed myself away from the table and asked "Do we go back to our rooms, or do we have to stay for more training?" "Whatever we're supposed to do, I'm going back to our floor." Leo said, pushing his chair out and walking over to the door. "Yeah, I don't think I can do much after that lunch anyway. See you guys." I got up and followed Leo. When the elevator flew up, I lost it. I doubled over and puked up most of my lunch. "Perfect." I heard Leo mumble.  
The next few days went by in a bit of a blur. We woke up, trained, ate lunch with Peeta and Katniss (I FINALLY learned her name), went back to our rooms, passed out, ate dinner, got hammered for details of training by Zeedee, and passed out again. I do remember one day, though, that I got tired of hearing the obnoxious Careers talking about who would be the easiest to kill. I nudged Leo and whispered "Watch this." I took my spoon, loaded it with a few of my berries, and sent them flying at the backs of their heads. It only hit one guy in particular. He took his eyes off of the guy he was criticizing and looked at me. Of course, I was stifling my laughter, making it pretty obvious it was me. He got up and walked over to our table. _Oh no._  
"What's so funny, 14?" "Your face." I giggled out. He took me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me out of my chair. "What's so funny about it?" "The fact that you look like a freakin' gorilla when you get mad." I gave him a smile before coughing. "Hey, ever heard of this thing called a Tic-Tac?" He took my neck and pulled me another inch off of the ground. "14, when those games start, you are as good as dead." He threw me to the ground and spat on me. "And so are you." I said confidently. He tried to kick me, but I grabbed his foot before he could land the blow. I yanked him down as I jumped to my feet. I stepped on his stomach and walked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him reach for his dagger. But somehow, it wasn't there. _Teeheehee_ I thought to myself as I felt the flat of the blade. _Thank you, Stoll brothers._  
On roughly the 4th day (or the 3rd, or the 5th. The days really started blurring together), when we went down to the training area, everyone was doing their own thing, as usual, but the feeling in the air wasn't right. Call it demigod intuition, but I was certain that something was about to go down. I brushed it off and went to the camouflage station. I know what I told myself the first day, that I wouldn't do it 'cause it was useless and blah blah blah, but I got bored. Simple as that. Don't judge me!  
I didn't do much training, actually. All I did was stand at the station, painting all over my arm with random colors and completely zoning out. Somehow, some way, when I snapped back to reality, my arm was looked exactly like tree bark. It really confused me, but what confused me even more was the fact that everyone was gone. Had I missed the lunch call? I shrugged, assumed I was right, and walked off to the cafeteria (more or less).  
I was sort of right. Most of the tributes were sitting it their normal groups, but I noticed Districts 1 through 4 were missing. There was food set up, but no one (and I mean NO ONE) was touching it. I spotted Leo in the corner, carving something into the tabletop with his fingernail. I looked over his shoulder and saw what he was writing. _'BORED'_. Huh. The guy from 5 got called. "What's going on?" "Apparently, the goat-man and Ms. OCD didn't bother to tell us about our 'private session' with the Gamemakers." He looked around the room as my face flushed. "I've got a terrible feeling that by the end of this, someone is going to have a spear sticking out of their shoulder." I said, genuinely worried. These people controlled what happened in that arena, and no matter how they act, if I didn't control myself, they could indirectly murder me brutally. I shuddered.  
I took a seat. There was one of our signature awkward silences hanging in the air, only broken a few times by someone calling for another tribute. My mind was drifting off to the other tributes, then District 12 specifically. "Why aren't we sitting with Katniss and Peeta?" I asked him. He gave me a look. "We're basically going to have to kill each other. I don't want to get too attached." "Well, someone's in a bad mood! Did you lose a hammer or something?" I laughed. He full-on glared at me. "Let's stop talking." "Yeah."  
More awkwardness. And it was even worse this time around, 'cause I know that something's up with Leo. Seriously, this whole 'battle to the death' thing adds way more drama to life than it should. "District 12, Peeta Mellark." Peeta got out of his seat and walked into a random room that I hadn't noticed before. _How could I have MISSED that?!_ More silence. Even more awkwardness. 2 more words scratched into the table. "District 12, Katniss Everdeen." She got up and walked out of the room, just like Peeta. This is so BORING! Minutes passed, still nothing to be said. "District 14, Leo Valdez." As he stood up, I looked up and said "Don't burn down the building." He looked down and replied "Don't drown the Gamemakers." "No promises." I mumbled to myself as he walked to the door.  
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. _Is there a clock in here?_I looked around. _No, that's just my biological clock making this even MORE tedious._ "District 14, Androme-" "Don't need to say it, I'm the only one here." I told the caller. Then, I remembered my goal. _Don't be disrespectful. Disrespect leads to anger, anger leads to violence, violence plus many weapons equal dead me in arena._ Flawless math.  
I walked into the huge, concrete room that all of the other tributes went into. It reminded me of a prison. The window-less walls screamed _YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE!_ I looked at the middle of the room and saw a huge black mark on the floor. _Leo..._ I walked into the middle of it and looked at the Gamemakers. A lot of them were cowering while the others looked at a roasted pig, filled with holes and with the apple knocked out of its mouth. _Well, they've been busy. _I walked over to a rack of swords lined up on the wall. I grabbed the first one I touched and yanked it off. A few others came down with it, but the Gamemakers didn't seem to notice.  
I grabbed a dummy by the neck and dragged it to the middle of the room. I gripped the sword and started to go into combat mode. _Cut! Slash! Whoosh! DIE KRONOS! _That's all that my brain was screaming during the dummy-slaughter. Pretty soon, the doll was but tattered pieces of cloth and... styrofoam, maybe? I looked back at the table. One person was looking at me out of the entire group, and he didn't look particularly interested, either. I kept seeing his eyes flash back to the pig.  
Here's how saw it. They dragged me into this room to see what I could do. All they were seeing was the ruined pig left on the table. I used some of my best moves just now and all they could think about was rump-roast. _Well, if that's how it is, _I thought, _I'll give them something a little more interesting._ I focused all of my energy and suddenly felt my stomach jerk.  
Instantly, I felt the pipes beneath the floor break. Water began pouring out of any crevice it could find, soaking the Gamemakers very thoroughly. One wave sent the pig flying onto the ground at my feet. I willed the water to lift the pig up to shoulder level. I gripped the sword and began hacking away at the pork ball. I could honestly say that it was kind of fun. The sound the pig made when I made another slice, the faces they made as they saw me manhandle their lunch, and the feeling of complete control made this way more enjoyable than expected.  
As I finished up, I figure I might as well leave with a bang. I've already screwed myself enough, why not make it worse? One clean slice downward, one across, and a single round-house kick was enough to send all of the little chunks of pig plus a huge current of water into their faces. Their faces at this point were pretty hard to read. Confusion, disgust, intimidation, anger, impress, all mixed into one expression. It was hard to look at for too long, so I simply said "Enjoy your lunch," turned on my heel, and walked away.  
As soon as I got in the elevator, I realized the severity of what just happened. "Oh my gods." I gasped to myself. I hit the top button and leaned against the wall. I was as good as dead now. Not only were they going to give me a low score and a harder time in the Games, but I have no idea what they may or may not have seen. We already think Panem's a pretty horrible place, and that's only after 2 months of nothing. Imagine what would happen of one of the Gamemakers leaked what happened to Snow. _If someone in there saw through the Mist..._ I slowly sank to the floor. _We're all dead._

A/N: Long chapter for a really long wait. So, like always, did you like it? Was it good? Am I starting to suck? Comments are very much appreciated, so... You know... It's right there. No promises for a straight schedule, but I'll try to get my stuff together. Soon. Probably not.


End file.
